07/22/96
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ATHENS, Ohio -- The $13.3 million Wilfred R. Konneker Research Laboratories building was dedicated Saturday in honor of an Ohio University alumnus who early recognized the profound impact of the university's pioneering research in biotechnology.
The laboratories are named in honor of 1943 graduate Wilfred R. Konneker in recognition of his leadership and service, particularly in assisting the university's long-term efforts to build a research base in biotechnology. The structure, which was occupied in March, houses the Ohio University Edison Biotechnology Institute and the university's biomolecular engineering group.
"I congratulate representatives of Ohio University and the Edison Biotechnology Institute on the dedication of the Wilfred R. Konneker Research Laboratories," Ohio Gov. George V. Voinovich said in a statement prepared for the dedication. "It is my hope that Ohio's outstanding reputation in the field of biotechnology will be enhanced by the state's strong commitment to progressive biotechnology research and development facilities such as this one."
During a dedication ceremony in Athens, Norman Chagnon, manager of the Ohio Department of Development's Thomas Edison Program, said Konneker and university President Emeritus Charles J. Ping "were visionary enough to recognize the power of the science Dr. Thomas Wagner and his colleagues were pursuing at Ohio University and other partner universities. They saw the future importance it could have to the state's economy and the implications of its therapeutic and other applications to the quality of life for many individuals within and outside the borders of Ohio."
The technology upon which the institute was founded -- the microinjection of exogenous genes into mice -- was acknowledged in 1989, when Ohio University was issued a patent on the microinjection process now used in virtually all efforts to create transgenic animals.
In remarks during the dedication, Ohio University President Robert Glidden focused on the generosity to the university of Konneker and his wife, Ann Lee, and the leadership and support Konneker has given to making Ohio University a research institution. The Konnekers purchased an historic home and carriage house adjacent to the College Green as a gift to the university for what is now the Konneker Alumni Center and the university guest house, Claire Cottage. Konneker also was co-chair of The Third Century Campaign, a fundraising effort that exceeded its $100 million goal by $32 million in 1993.
"It is appropriate to name university buildings after people who have set models for others," Glidden said, "because they inspire us, and they help us to raise our aspirations for the future.
"Will Konneker's leadership in the establishment of the Innovation Center has been an important development in making Ohio University a leader in technology transfer," Glidden said. "And it was Will Konneker, primarily, who inspired the Cutler Scholars program -- he continues to meet and talk with university alumni and friends to help raise the endowment funds to support that important scholarship and leadership program for deserving students. And, lest it be thought that Will Konneker's support of university academic interests has been only in the sciences, he is now giving leadership to the development of Ohio University's Kennedy Museum of American Art. It is most appropriate that this state-of-the-art research facility on the Ohio University campus be named for Will Konneker."
President Emeritus Ping said that "the fit of the building and the man is quite remarkable. The building is dedicated to basic science, to research and discovery, to the work of senior and apprentice scholars in exploring new frontiers of biotechnology and bioengineering. The building bears the name of Will Konneker, who labored in the mid-years of this century as a student of science and a researcher in the new age of nuclear physics."
The Konneker Research Laboratories project was funded with $11.46 million from state capital appropriations and $1.84 million from the Ohio Board of Regents' research facility investment funds. The project allowed Ohio University to renovate and reuse one of the vacant historic structures of a former state mental health center. The new building provides four times as much usable floor space -- about 40,000 square feet -- as the university's former biotechnology facility in Wilson Hall.
The Ohio University Edison Biotechnology Institute (EBI) was founded in 1984 as one of the six original Edison Technology Centers funded through the Ohio Department of Development's Thomas Edison Program and continues its affiliation with the Edison Program as a Center of Excellence of the Edison BioTechnology Center (EBTC), which is based in Cleveland.
EBI still holds its original mission of developing the scientific potential of biotechnology and related fields while bringing technical and economic growth to the region. Funding for EBI comes from a variety of sources, including the Ohio Department of Development's Thomas Edison Program, the Goll-Ohio Eminent Scholar Endowment, Ohio University, federal agencies, and corporate sponsored research agreements.